| Farris also teaches a Christian
education course about creative teaching methods designed to encourage
student participation, as opposed to the traditional lecture-style
of teaching.
Londrina is an industrial city of half a million people. It was
christened at a banquet in London, England: thus its name, which
means "little London." When the city was founded, it
was considered a "garden city just a stone's throw from the
jungle," but it is now a modern, clean, and well-organized
city.
Farris and Thelma are active in a local Presbyterian church of
the IPIB, where Farris plays the piano for worship services and
directs the choir and bell choirs. Thelma directs a project that
she developed to help underprivileged children with their school
work.
Prior to moving to Londrina in 1997 Farris and Thelma served for
eight years in the IPIB’s seminary in the northeastern city
of Fortaleza.
Before their work in Fortaleza, Farris completed a term of service
at the Bible Institute of the North in Garanhuns, an institution
of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil that prepares young people
for church vocations. It was there that he met and married Thelma,
whose family lives on the island of Guarujá, not far from
the port city of Santos in the state of São Paulo.
Farris was born and grew up in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, the son of Garland and Eleanor Goodrum, missionaries appointed
by the former Presbyterian Church of the United States. He earned
his bachelor’s degree in music from State University of
West Georgia in Carrollton, Georgia, and holds a graduate degree
in Christian education from the Presbyterian School of Christian
Education, Richmond, Virginia, as well as a graduate degree in
music from Georgia State University in Atlanta.
Thelma, a native of Brazil, received her undergraduate degree
in pedagogy with a major in languages from the University of Guarujá,
São Paulo. She earned a certificate in data entry from
the J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Virginia,
and graduated in 2008 with a degree in theology from the Independent Presbyterian
Seminary in Londrina.
Farris and Thelma are members of North Avenue Presbyterian Church
in Atlanta, Georgia, and are also members of the Independent Presbyterian
Church of Brazil.
Birthdays:
Birthdays:
Farris - October 1
Thelma - July 3
Michael - January 3, 1992
Joel - September 2, 1997
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